Terry Alderton: Wife made me do EastEnders

The actor recently joined the soap as Bianca Butcher's new love interest, cab driver Terry Spraggan, and he admits it took some encouragement from his family to accept the part.

He said: ''I wouldn't be here if my wife and my mum hadn't twisted my arm. Mum is a massive fan and only now that I'm in 'EastEnders' does she think I've really cracked it - and I'd thought I already had with 25 years in comedy!''

Terry says his role as the affable cab driver has been life-changing and he is now stopped in the street by fans for autographs and pictures.

He revealed: ''No one could have prepared me for the attention you get, it's crazy. I wear glasses in real life, so I've bought thick ones and always wear a hat. But people still recognise me. I'm someone who didn't want to be famous.''

However, not all of the attention has been positive as the actor-and-comedian often gets sent abusive messages on Twitter.

Terry told Inside Soap magazine: ''I get a lot of nice tweets but I get a lot of trolls - and I love the trolls! My agent and I meet up and spend our time finding all the worst stuff written about me, and then I start following those people. They must think, 'Why is he following me?' But I love it. That's my twisted sense of humour.''